The outcome of the Tooting by-election was never going to dominate the political news, but in the event it was wiped off the front pages by the tragic death of the well-regarded Labour MP Jo Cox at the hands of a constituent.

Rightly, tributes were paid to her and sympathies for her bereaved family came from all sides. Thankfully, the murder of a Member of Parliament is now a rare event. It was not always so.